Gui Zhi Qu Gui Jia Fu Ling Bai Zhu Tang
Star桂枝去桂加茯苓白术汤 (Cinnamon Twig Decoction Minus Cinnamon Twig Plus Poria (Hoelen) and Ovate Atractylodes)
Source: Shang Han Lun — Zhang Zhong-Jing (Eastern Han, c. 220)
Last updated October 20, 2026
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Description
Gui Zhi Qu Gui Jia Fu Ling Bai Zhu Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction Minus Cinnamon Twig Plus Poria (Hoelen) and Ovate Atractylodes) is the formula given in Line 28 of the Shang Han Lun for persistent stiffness and pain of the head and nape, feather-warm heat effusion, absence of sweating, fullness and slight pain below the heart, and inhibited urination after Cinnamon Twig Decoction or precipitation (water qì collecting in the interior).
Source: Mitchell C, Feng Y, Wiseman N. Shang Han Lun: On Cold Damage, Translation & Commentaries. Paradigm Publications, 1999, pp. 173–174.
Composition
Liquorice — estimated at the Chinese Pharmacopoeia's minimum content: about 313 mg of glycyrrhizic acid a day (zhi Gan Cao 31.25 g × 1.0 %). The EU Scientific Committee on Food considers 100 mg/day an upper limit for regular intake that protects most people. The estimate assumes all of it passes into what is taken, uses the pharmacopoeia's dry-weight minimum, and takes the amounts as one day's dose.
Sources
Sources: Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2020, 甘草 and 炙甘草, assay (glycyrrhizic acid not less than 1.8 % in the dispensed slices and 1.0 % in honey-fried liquorice, by dry weight). EU Scientific Committee on Food, Opinion on glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salt, SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/225 Final, 2003. The Committee notes this limit may not protect people with high blood pressure, electrolyte or fluid-balance disorders, slow gut transit, or reduced 11β-HSD2 activity.
- 《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版一部 — 甘草, 饮片 甘草片【含量测定】甘草酸 不得少于1.8%（按干燥品计算） (opens in a new tab)
- 《中华人民共和国药典》2020年版一部 — 炙甘草【含量测定】甘草酸 不得少于1.0%（按干燥品计算） (opens in a new tab)
- EU Scientific Committee on Food, Opinion on glycyrrhizinic acid and its ammonium salt, SCF/CS/ADD/EDUL/225 Final (10 April 2003) (opens in a new tab)
- EMA/HMPC/108399/2024 — European Union herbal monograph on Glycyrrhiza glabra L.; Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat.; Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., radix, §4.9 Overdose (opens in a new tab)
| Herb | Amount | % | Role | Function |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bai Shao
as printed: 芍药三两 (3 liang); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64); printed as 芍药 shao yao (peony, white or red not specified), linked to Bai Shao as in the catalogue's other Shang Han Lun rows
|
46.88g | 21.43% | — | |
|
Gan Cao
as printed: 甘草二两（炙） (2 liang, mix-fried); 31.25 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
31.25g | 14.29% | — | |
|
Sheng Jiang
as printed: 生姜（切）、白术、茯苓各三两 (3 liang each; ginger cut); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 21.43% | — | |
|
Bai Zhu
as printed: 生姜（切）、白术、茯苓各三两 (3 liang each); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 21.43% | — | |
|
Fu Ling
as printed: 生姜（切）、白术、茯苓各三两 (3 liang each); 46.875 g at 1 liang = 15.625 g (p. 64)
|
46.88g | 21.43% | — | |
|
Da Zao
as printed: 大枣十二枚（擘） (12 pieces, broken)
|
12pieces | 100% | — |
Energetics dose-weighted
The formula's overall nature, taste balance and channel reach, weighted by each herb's dose. Classical formulas often pair warm and cool herbs on purpose, so a net figure summarises the mix — it doesn't describe every herb in it.
Nature
Net neutral (+0.21)
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Grams by band: cool 21%, neutral 36%, warm 43%.
Taste
- pungent 21%
- sweet 36%
- sour 11%
- bitter 21%
- bland 11%
From 100% of the weighed grams.
Channels reached
- Spleen 100%
- Lung 57%
- Stomach 57%
- Heart 36%
- Kidney 21%
- Liver 21%
Share of the grams entering each channel, from 100% of the weighed grams.
1 herb without a dose in grams, so left out of every figure above: Da Zao.
Dose-weighted from each herb's recorded nature, taste and channels (missing values are left out, never counted as neutral). It describes the composition — it is not a recommendation.
Preparation
(1) [For] the above six ingredients use eight shēng of water. Boil to get three shēng, remove the dregs and take one shēng warm. (2) [After] urination is uninhibited, then [there will be] recovery. (3) This is Cinnamon Twig Decoction (guì zhī tāng) without cinnamon [twig] (guì [zhī]) and with poria (fú líng) and ovate atractylodes (bái zhú). (Mitchell, Feng & Wiseman 1999, p. 174, Line 28)
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Formula family
Full equations
- Sheng Yang Yi Wei Tang = this formula + Liu Jun Zi Tang + Yu Ping Feng San + Chai Hu, Du Huo, Huang Lian, Qiang Huo and Ze Xie. Proportions not compared: no dose entered for Da Zao and Sheng Jiang.
- Xi Tong Fang Er Hao = this formula + Zhi Bai Di Huang Wan + Dang Gui Shao Yao San + Dan Shen, Dang Shen, Du Zhong, Ji Xue Teng, Niu Xi, Qian Nian Jian, Shen Jin Cao, Sheng Di Huang and Wu Jia Pi. Proportions not compared: no dose entered for Bai Shao, Bai Zhu, Da Zao, Fu Ling, Gan Cao and Sheng Jiang.
Each entry reads as the larger formula written out: “+” adds its other catalogue cores, then the herbs none of them hold. A catalogue formula counts as a core only when at least 80% of its herbs are present, no more than 1 is absent, and the absent herb is not its chief.
Formula Network
Formulas that share herbs with this one — the closer to the centre, the stronger the match. Click a node to explore.
Similar Formulas by composition
Match score combines dosage-weighted composition (cosine, 70%) with shared-herb overlap (Jaccard, 30%).
Traditional formula information is for educational purposes only. Herbal formulas should be prescribed by a qualified practitioner — dosages and combinations are individualized and can interact with medications.
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